Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever—U.S.-Mexico Border, 2005

Abstract

Dengue fever is a mosquito-transmitted disease caused by any of four closely related virus serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4) of the genus Flavivirus. Infection with one of these serotypes provides lifelong immunity to the infecting serotype only. Therefore, persons can acquire a second dengue infection from a different serotype, and second infections place them at greater risk for dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), the more severe form of the disease. DHF is characterized by bleeding manifestations, thrombocytopenia, and increased vascular permeability that can lead to life-threatening shock. In south Texas, near the border with Mexico, sporadic, locally acquired outbreaks of dengue fever have been reported previously; however, on the Texas side of the border, these outbreaks have not included recognized cases of locally acquired DHF in persons native to the area. In July 2005, a case of DHF was reported in a resident of Brownsville, Texas. In August 2005, health authorities in the neighboring state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, reported an ongoing dengue outbreak with 1,251 cases of dengue fever, including 223 cases (17.8%) of DHF. To characterize this dengue outbreak, the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS), Mexican health authorities, and CDC conducted a clinical and epidemiologic investigation. This report summarizes the results of that investigation, which determined that the percentage of DHF cases associated with dengue fever outbreaks at the Texas-Tamaulipas border has increased. Health-care providers along the U.S. border with Mexico should be vigilant for DHF and familiar with its diagnosis and management to reduce the number of severe illnesses and deaths associated with outbreaks of dengue fever.